HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana went toe-to-toe with the No. 11 softball team in the nation for the first five innings, but LSU broke open the game with seven runs in the final two innings to pull away from the Lady Lions for a 9-1 victory in front of a North Oak Park-record crowd of 975 Wednesday night.
 
Southeastern (19-21) had scoring opportunities in virtually every inning, but stranded 11 runners. LSU (30-12) touched up three SLU pitchers for 12 hits to snap a three-game losing skid.
 
Senior Katie Lacour and sophomore Kinsey Nichols had two hits apiece to lead the Lady Lions, as both raised their season batting average to a team-leading .427. Nichols scored Southeastern's lone run, while junior Mychal Truxillo and freshman Jaquelyn Ramon each reached base multiple times with two walks apiece. Senior Amber Sather also had a hit for the Lady Lions.
 
LSU took the lead in the top of the first inning against SLU freshman Caitlyn VanHemelryck (3-4). Sandra Simmons led off the game with a double off the centerfield fence and later scored on an RBI groundout by Bianka Bell to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
 
Southeastern went right after LSU starter Baylee Corbello (6-0) in the bottom of the first inning. Lacour led off the inning with a triple just inside the left field line out of the reach of a diving Elyse Thornhill. Walks issued to Nichols and Truxillo loaded the bases, but Corbello forced sophomore Brittney Wingate to pop out to keep the score a 1-0.
 
LSU added to their lead and chased VanHemelryck in the top of the second inning. Thornhill drew a leadoff walk, moved up to third on consecutive ground outs and scored on an RBI single to center by Simmons to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
 
Southeastern threated again in the third inning, as Nichols and Sather led off the frame with consecutive singles. However, the veteran Corbello retired Truxillo, Wingate and freshman Angelica Gutierrez to keep the Lady Lions off the board.
 
With senior Taylor Bishop holding LSU at bay, Southeastern finally cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to the speed of Nichols. After being hit by a pitch, Nichols advanced all the way to third when Corbello struck out Sather on a wild pitch.
 
Truxillo then hit a sharp grounder to Bell at third. After looking Nichols back to third, Bell fired over to first to retire Truxillo. But the aggressive Nichols ran any way and the Alvin, Texas native slid under the tag of Sahvanna Jaquish to cut the Tiger lead to 2-1.
 
Nichols' run woke up the Tigers, who batted around in the top of the sixth inning to bust the game open. RBI singles by Simmons, Kellsi Kloss and Constance Quinn accounted for the inning's first four runs, while another run scored on a throwing error by sophomore Carlie Whittington. A passed ball accounted for the inning's final run and gave LSU an 8-1 lead.
 
LSU closed out the scoring in the top of the seventh inning. Taylor Lockwood walked and later scored on a two-base throwing error by freshman Taylor Estain to extend the Tiger advantage to 9-1.
 
Southeastern mounted one last threat in the bottom of the seventh inning. Lacour walked, Nichols singled and Truxillo walked to load the bases with two outs. Corbello kept Southeastern from making it any closer by retiring Wingate to secure the victory.
 
Southeastern will continue its six-game home stand with a three-game Southland Conference series versus Central Arkansas. The series opens with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and concludes with a 12 p.m. contest on Sunday. Live stats and video (LionVision subscription required) will be accessible at www.LionSports.net.